A winter Love Island is coming to a TV near you – with an unexpected twist

If there’s been a Kem-sized hole in your heart since Love Island finished last month, fear not: the show is (sort of) scheduled to return to our screens this winter.

In what has to be some of the most exciting TV news of the month (see also: the return of Victoria and anythingGame of Thronesrelated), the show’s bosses have announced the launch of a new dating show, which we like to think of as Love Island 2.0.

Taking place in South Africa rather than Mallorca, the new series will see another group of attractive young singletons sharing a villa while competing for a cash prize.

The only catch? They’ll have to contend with physical and mental challenges on a daily basis, in which the female contestants will be pitted against the male contestants in a modern battle of the sexes.

The new Love Island will have even more challenges

Called Survival of the Fittest, the show, airing later this year, will also have a healthy dose of romance programmed in, with contestants going on dates and, most likely, coupling up – only to then battle it out against each other the next day.

According to The Mirror, ITV2’s head of digital channels and acquisitions, Paul Mortimer, said: “ITV2’s younger audience will no doubt relish the escapism this immersive physical game show from sunny South Africa will provide next winter.

“Like Love Island before it, this series’ nightly mixture of fun challenges and burgeoning relationships ought to be must see.”

The announcement of the new show comes hot on the heels of the success of this summer’s series of Love Island, which gripped viewers up and down the nation with its nightly offerings of muggy-ness, dick sand and hard grafting.

And while we have already had the traditional reunion show, which saw all the contestants meet a week after the finale, there are also rumours of another spin-off that would explore how the couples’ relationships are surviving in the “real world”.

Will the Love Island relationships stand the test of time?

Rumoured to be launching in autumn, an insider told The Sun, “There are already discussions behind the scenes as to doing a follow-up series later this year where viewers can see if islanders have stayed together at home – and whether they’re following in the footsteps of last year’s couples like Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen.

“Each of the couples have already been pushed to the limits in a very false environment and once they’re back home, they will have more time to themselves away from the camera.”